Singapore: Well-Positioned for Maritime Industry

Singapore has once again clinched the top position in Menon’s Leading Maritime Capitals of the World Report, the third edition of the maritime report where Singapore was also ranked first in 2015 and 2012.

Singapore was ranked number one in the following three categories: Shipping, Ports and Logistics, and Attractiveness and Competitiveness. The maritime nation also scored good results in the remaining two categories: second place in Maritime Technology and fourth place in Finance and Law.

Significantly, Singapore jumped three places from fifth to second position in the Maritime Technology category, affirming its focus in technology, research and development is in the right direction, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).

“We are deeply honoured yet humbled by this recognition from the international maritime industry. This will spur us to work harder to make Maritime Singapore a global maritime hub of choice. We are truly grateful to all our partners and stakeholders for walking with us every step of the way,” Andrew Tan, Chief Executive of Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA), said.

The latest Menon Report, developed by Norwegian consultancy firm Menon Economics, was launched at the Singapore Maritime Week 2017 last week.

The report showed that, while more than 140 shipping companies are represented in Singapore, new companies continue to establish a presence here. At the same time, the Singapore Registry of Ships is still amongst the world’s top 5 largest ship registries in the world.

“The Port of Singapore remains one of the world’s busiest ports – it sustained its performance in 2016, when vessel arrival tonnage increased by 6.3 per cent to 2.66 billion gross tonnes,” MPA Singapore said.

Singapore ranked top in Overall Attractiveness and Competitiveness due to the ease of doing business and customs procedures. According to the report, seven in 10 experts regarded Singapore as one of the three most attractive cities in the world for relocating their headquarters and also identified it as one of the Maritime Capitals most prepared and ready to adopt digitalisation.

Furthermore, looking five years ahead, the majority of industry experts surveyed shared a consensus that Singapore “will remain the most important city,” with many believing that the country has strong capabilities to handle digital transformation in the maritime industry.